Papal doctor says Francis knew he might die in hospital

By CathNews New Zealand

March 28th, 2025

Dr Sergio Alfieri, who led the medical team treating the Pope in the hospital. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

There was a real risk that Pope Francis could have died in hospital after a setback on February 28, according to the co-ordinator of his medical team. Source: Catholic News Service.

“For the first time I saw tears in the eyes of some of the people around him,” Dr Sergio Alfieri told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in an interview published on March 25.

“We were all aware that the situation had deteriorated further, and there was a risk that he might not make it.”

The Vatican medical bulletin from February 28 said the Holy Father experienced a bronchospasm. This caused vomiting, which led to him inhaling some vomit and there was a sudden worsening of his respiratory condition. The doctors aspirated his airways and put him on non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

Dr Alfieri told Corriere: “We had to make a choice between stopping and letting him go, or pressing on and trying all the drugs and therapies we could, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. And in the end, we took that path.”

Asked who made the final decision, Dr Alfieri said “The Holy Father always decides.”

But he added that Pope Francis had “delegated all kinds of health care decisions to Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal health care assistant, who knows perfectly well the Pontiff’s wishes”.

Strappetti, a qualified nurse, advised, “Try everything, don’t give up,” Dr Alfieri said. “That’s what we all thought too. And nobody gave up.”

Corriere also asked Dr Alfieri if Pope Francis was aware of the danger he was in.

“Yes,” he responded, “because he was always alert. Even when his condition worsened, he was fully conscious. That night was terrible; he knew, as we did, that he might not make it through the night. We saw the man in pain. However, from the first day he asked us to tell him the truth and wanted us to be honest about his condition.”

After 38 days in hospital, Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on March 23, but doctors say he will need two months to recuperate. Pope Francis concelebrated Mass on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, in the small chapel near his room.

FULL STORY

Pope knew he ‘might not make it,’ physician says (By Cindy Wooden/CNS)